Wednesday, October 3, 2012

BOY HITS CAR: "Stealing Fire"

Boy Hits Car and end up under school bus? Originally formed in 1993, their best known self-titled second album was released at Wind-Up records in the early 00's. It's very obvious that they're a serious anti-L.A. glamour band even though it's their hometown @ California U.S. of A. Initially the nu/alternative band, their post-hardcore album number four, "Stealing Fire", packs tons of emotionally tunes and the quirky term of lovecore.

Armed with heavy guitars, groove driven bass, tribal rhythms, intense melodic vocals and open tuned 12 string acoustic guitar, the album gets a lot badder than should legally be allowed and a lot better than expected. They've managed to create the nice mixture and contrast between melody and energy as they now play a style of rock that smacks of angry indie vs. commercial radio friendly stuff. Yup, it's clearly Poprockhardcore?

If anything, "Stealing Fire", takes them further up the ladder of excellence than they've ever been before, albeit with more easily accessible songs and sharp hooks. Sell out? Oh get the f##k out! It's the rhythms of Jane's Addiction only with slightly catchier and more direct material in the typical arena rock style of today. This leads to each track having its own mood, but all sharing the common ground of intense and close to tribal arrangements. It's the entire package with crunchy guitars and sing-a-long melodies that makes this a nice change from the average post nu-metal affair. I prefer this over their Wind-Up release and it's nice to witness the band's progress without the backing of a major label. Kudos!
www.boyhitscar.com